Bourne, Frederick County’s first black doctor, saw patients at his All Saints Street home and was a key influence in the African-American community in the early 20th century. He created the Pythian Castle, a place for blacks to experience the arts, helped form the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and opened the first hospital for blacks near his home.

Sam’s interest in Bourne first came through an essay contest for the Frederick County Historical Society, which he won last year, but then progressed to make sure others knew about Bourne’s legacy. The fifth-grade student at Ballenger Creek Elementary School went on to raise about $20,000 to commission a bronze bust of Bourne to be placed at Frederick Memorial Hospital later this year.

‘‘He experienced a lot [through segregation in Frederick], but his message was ‘Don’t give up,’” Sam said. ‘‘He is a good role model.”

Sam recently got his first look at the clay prototype of Bourne, sculpted by noted artist Steven Weitzman, whose works grace the United Nations grounds in New York City and at various sites in and around Washington, D.C.

The young man’s visit to Weitzman’s studio in Brentwood was not just social, but a chance to make his own mark on the statue. Sam was allowed to craft a clay tie to add to the bust as one of a few final touches before it is bronzed.

‘‘[The statue] is pretty good,” Sam said. ‘‘It’s a good feeling to see it complete ... and making a tie out of clay is easier than tying one in real life.”

Accompanying Sam and his family for a first look at the statue was another person who looked up to Dr. Bourne, his 89-year-old daughter, Dr. I. Blanche Bourne-Tyree. Like her father, Bourne-Tyree went on to practice medicine, one of the first women of color to receive a medical degree in the area, with a long career in pediatrics and public health.

The first minutes of her visit were spent staring at the chiseled face and eyes of her father as she had done so many times as a child.

‘‘It is a very good resemblance of him,” she said. ‘‘When I walked in, I was almost startled because it is so like him. So many people [in Frederick] know about him, but as for this honor ... he deserves it.”

Bourne-Tyree, who lives in Frederick, called Sam’s work ‘‘unbelievable” and has created such a strong bond with him she refers to the young man as one of her grandchildren and Sam affectionately calls her ‘‘Grandma Blanche.”

‘‘When [Sam] first told me what he wanted to do, I thought it wouldn’t happen,” Dr. Bourne-Tyree said. ‘‘It was a nice dream for a child, but he has made it happen and to see it is amazing. It has been his dream.”

Just as Sam had work to do, so did Bourne’s daughter. The artist recommended that her father’s bust sport a lapel pin, which old photos of him displayed many times.

Kneading a small amount of clay between his fingers, Weitzman added a dime-shaped disc to the statue’s left jacket lapel and handed Bourne-Tyree a pencil.

Carefully, she carved her initials, ‘‘I.B.B.,” and stood back to admire the finished product, with Sam’s tie and her lapel pin a part of something that will span generations at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

‘‘It’s just breathtaking,” she said. ‘‘That will be there forever. I so adore [my father] ... and this is so special.”